1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a decorative rug and, more particularly, to a method for hand-crafting a rug.
2. Prior Art
The popular craft of rug making has been practiced by many people for a number of years. It provides an enjoyable pastime and creative outlet while producing useful and aesthetically appealing rugs having an infinite variety of designs and textures which cannot be duplicated by commercial machineproduced rugs. Handcrafted rugs are used on the floor in place of conventional floor coverings, and are often displayed as a wall hanging.
An apparatus for making yarn rugs semi-automatically is available in commerce. Such an apparatus is transported over the canvas by a manual drive, each piece of yam being folded in the middle and inserted between two threads of the canvas so that it forms a loop and the two ends of the piece stand out above the canvas. After all pieces of yam have been inserted, a coat of glue is applied to the underside of the canvas. One disadvantage of this prior art apparatus is that the individual pieces of yam are not knotted to the canvas but glued to it. Such glued rugs feel hard to the touch and may suffer damage under the influence of dampness. Furthermore this method of making a rug requires the use of an apparatus that must be purchased.
In an alternate method, a hand-operated knotting device is described whereby pieces of yarn already cut to the proper length are individually knotted to the canvas. A drawback of this apparatus is that working speed is only about twice as great as in the case of knotting solely by hand.
Most rug making techniques, including those described above, require a certain aptitude and many people find the techniques difficult to master. The usual methods of producing a hooked rug, for example, require some degree of skill and dexterity in order to achieve uniform spacing and density of the pile and to form the pile of a uniform height. Also, many people find the pushing or pulling of the hook through the backing fabric to be tiresome.
Accordingly, a need remains for a method for hand-crafting a rug in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a method that is easy to complete, has entertainment value, and gives pride to the user in the beauty of their completed rug. Such a method results in decorative items that can be displayed throughout the house and become interesting conversation pieces. The method is easily learned and completed by individuals with little or no crafting experience, thus making it accessible to all. Such a method will further provide a relaxing means to create attractive gifts, thus pleasing the recipient and the maker.